Des Moines finances, south side take center stage at forum

City Council candidates tell how they would handle issues

Oct. 18, 2013

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The future of Des Moines’ south side and the city’s finances were at center stage when four City Council candidates met at a forum Thursday night.

For an at-large seat, incumbent Skip Moore is running against Chris Diebel.

For Ward 3, which includes much of southwest Des Moines, including downtown and the airport, incumbent Christine Hensley faces challenger Cal Woods.

It was not known why candidates Margaret Trowe for at-large and David Rosenfeld in Ward 3 did not attend the forum sponsored by the Gray’s Lake Neighborhood Association.

About 40 people attended.

The candidates addressed several issues:

Top priorities

Diebel said that his priority is neighborhood growth and that his plan is to create short- and long-term goals for every ward during his first year in office.

Moore said funding public safety and addressing the abandoned and condemned houses around the city are his priorities.

Woods said his top priority is to improve city infrastructure. To pay for improvements, he advocated reducing tax abatement incentives offered by the city, which he said cost Des Moines $15 million a year.

Hensley said her focus is to promote economic development. And she responded to Woods that developments like Gray’s Lake Park and the Western Gateway were completed thanks to tax incentives.

Revenue, expenses

Hensley said the city is too dependent on property taxes and should consider charging user fees for police and fire protection to entities, such as hospitals and nonprofits, that don’t pay property taxes.

“Alternative revenues have to be a key component of us balancing our budget,” she said.

Woods reiterated that the city needs to address tax abatement. He said the city gave developers too much money to build high-end condos that people didn’t want or couldn’t afford.

“Here’s an example of a government program gone wrong,” he said.

Moore said the city should consider increasing the franchise fees or increasing the sales tax.

“I know it’s considered a regressive tax,” he said of the sales tax, “but it’s an alternative to lay off our employees or cutting services.”

Diebel said the city should aim to help the economy grow with more housing development by reducing “red tape” for builders. It’s telling, he said, that Habitat for Humanity, not a commercial developer, was the top home builder in Des Moines last year.

“I want to figure out a way to make it easier to build here,” he said.

South-side future

Diebel said the South Side Library will soon need to be replaced and could be a cornerstone of Southwest Ninth Street or other south-side corridors.

Moore compared Southwest Ninth Street and Ingersoll Avenue, which has undergone its own pedestrian-friendly redevelopment, with positive results, he said.

Hensley said the redevelopment will have to be driven by volunteers, which she said was what happened on Ingersoll.

Woods said if the city makes the corridor more pedestrian-friendly, businesses will follow.